The reality was astounding
No way, you managed to do this?
How is your material so strong? So flexible? Your 3D printing technology is so good? You can realize this kind of functional structure?
I was just saying it, you know...
Why are your high-tech components so cheap?
Does that an I should be bolder in my design?
Both sides constantly communicated ideas over mantou, trying repeatedly to create what was purely a brainstorm by mantou for a gate.
Let’s give it a shot, it’s not like they’re spending their own money.
As for mantou, although her money was virtual and all accounted under Lin Miao, the number was substantial, and Lin Miao was happy to invest in new product developnt. Even if it failed, it was seen as gaining experience, so they were allowed to tinker as they wished.
......
Since Adcardo repelled the Night Wanderer, life had improved significantly. Although they continued a nomadic lifestyle, moving their base every now and then, they now had a fixed Stone Ridge Mountain tunnel outpost to stock supplies, not far from Lin Miao’s small town on Stone Ridge Mountain, enabling mutual assistance.
Night Wanderer and Chaotic Blade Association tried attacking several tis, but were repelled by the players and Adcardo each ti.
The random monster siege events were incredibly thrilling for the new players.
anwhile, Stone Ridge Mountain town was expanded several tis compared to the initial scattered few buildings and even had the ground reinforced with concrete. The modular design player dormitories were stacked like toy blocks to form Khrushchyovkas.
As living conditions improved, players also developed their entertainnt needs. They applied to Lin Miao for ball courts, to open their own small shops, and so skilled new players even sought help from city players to buy ingredients, producing and selling them themselves—dessert houses, custom clothing, refined weaponry... almost a small town’s scene.
If not for the environntal limitations, Lin Miao had little doubt soone would cultivate farmland on the town outskirts to grow vegetables.
The vibrant energy and thriving scenes were still vivid in Lin Miao’s mind.
So players had begun to miss the crisp vegetables and fried chicken from reality; whenever they wanted to eat, they logged off to order takeout, satisfied themselves, and then logged back in.
This was one of the reasons why Lin Miao promised to cater to life-oriented players in future versions.
He indeed was working towards that direction.
A battered, dusty convoy returned to Adcardo from the distant horizon.
The people remaining in the camp imdiately surrounded the convoy, but not with caution, but concern.
That’s because the drivers were Sol and Panam, who had been missing for so ti.
Panam jumped out of the car, closed the door.
Though not using much force, a thick layer of sandy dust cascaded off the tan vehicle.
She too was covered in dust, and with a casual pat, shook off a dust silhouette in the shape of a person.
"Water, quickly!"
Taking the cold water offered by Mitch, Panam gulped it down and casually found a rock to sit on.
"Whew... damn, I almost thought we’d never make it back."
"What happened, Panam?"
Mitch was puzzled, it was just a trip out, why did it feel like they had faced life and death?
Panam waved her hand, still catching her breath
"I’m too exhausted, let Sol explain first."
Everyone’s gaze returned to Sol, whose already mature face looked even more weathered at this mont.
"We traveled north all the way, seeking suitable water sources and abandoned cities. When passing through Monterey, we noticed sothing unusual, and Panam wanted to check it out, thinking we might find sothing valuable."
California, like New Arica, was divided into north and south, with Night City roughly in Northern California, between San Francisco and Los Angeles, where Pismo Beach used to be.
Heading further north, one would pass Big Sur, Monterey, and San Jose (Silicon Valley), before reaching San Francisco.
Upon receiving Lin Miao’s commission, we followed this route north, searching for potential water plant sources.
And a place to fabricate player origins for Lin Miao. Of course, Lin Miao didn’t tell Sol about this, rely asking him to keep an eye out for any deserted ghost towns.
As a tribe of Wanderers who migrate occasionally, they were more familiar with the land distribution than big corporations.
But not entirely, otherwise Sol and the others wouldn’t have lost their way during migration.
"What could Monterey possibly have? Wasn’t it abandoned decades ago?" Mitch was surprised by how ragged Sol and the others looked
As a forr coastal city, supported entirely by tourism and devoid of industry, Monterey fell along with old Arica’s collapse, even disappearing from today’s Northern California map.
"Did Chaotic Blade Association occupy the abandoned city?"
"No."
Panam, now catching her breath, said. "If it were the Chaotic Blade group, it wouldn’t be so tough to handle."
She intended to say more, but noticing the crowd around, closed her mouth.
Sol had cautioned extensively on the return journey not to reveal this to the tribe.
Mitch led them to a resting room for a break and dismissed the others to their posts before continuing to ask
"Don’t tell you ran into company n in the city."
Panam, who usually feared nothing, couldn’t help but show a frightful expression
"It wasn’t company n, Mitch, it was rogue AI. A large number of robots have already taken over Monterey."
"At first, we thought it was a company’s chanical troop digging for so legacy, but after watching for several days from the periphery, we saw a military tech squad landing nearby on a hovercraft, seemingly preparing for an operation. But shortly after entering the city, they were shredded by those robots."
"Inside, there are factories, tanks, even hovercraft."
"These aren’t company troops, it’s the rogue AI. Damn companies have been keeping this from everyone, those freaking AI have long taken root on this land!"
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